Dan Bishop

James Daniel Bishop (born July 1, 1964)[3][4] is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district since 2019. He also served in the North Carolina State Senate from 2017-2019. A Republican, his district includes south-central Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017, and the Mecklenburg County Commission from 2005 to 2009.

Dan Bishop
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 9th district
Assumed office
September 17, 2019
Preceded byRobert Pittenger
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 39th district
In office
January 1, 2017 – September 17, 2019
Preceded byBob Rucho
Succeeded byRob Bryan
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 104th district
In office
January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2017
Preceded byRuth Samuelson
Succeeded byAndy Dulin
Member of the Mecklenburg County Commission
from the 5th district
In office
January 2005 – January 2009
Preceded byRuth Samuelson[1]
Succeeded byNeil Cooksey[2]
Personal details
Born
James Daniel Bishop

(1964-07-01) July 1, 1964
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Jo Bishop
Children1
EducationUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS, JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Bishop was the lead author of North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill" which prohibited transgender individuals from using public restrooms other than those by their biological sex as defined on their birth certificates.[5][6]

Bishop won the 2019 special election to the U.S. House of Representatives with 50.7% of the vote to Dan McCready's 48.7% on September 10, 2019.[7][8] He took office on September 17, 2019.

Education

Bishop received a B.S. in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and a J.D. in 1990 from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1990.[9] He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Local and state political career
Bishop with President Donald Trump in September 2019

County Commission and North Carolina House of Representatives (2005–2016)

Bishop was a member of the Mecklenburg County Commission from 2004 to 2008. After a six-year absence from politics, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives from a south Charlotte seat for a single term (2015-2017), running against a Libertarian opponent, Eric Cable, but without a Democratic one.[10] Bishop's district was House District 104.[9] He succeeded Ruth Samuelson, who retired from the House.[10]

State Senate (2017–2019)

Bishop won his North Carolina State Senate District 39 seat in November 2016 to succeed Bob Rucho who was not seeking re-election. He received 58,739 votes (52.81%), defeating Democrat Lloyd Scher, who received 44,655 (47.19%).[11]

During the 2017-2018 legislative session, Bishop was the co-chairman of the Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting, the vice-chairman of the Select Committee on Elections, and a member of several additional committees.[12]

In the state Senate, Bishop was one of the primary sponsors of legislation in 2017 that would prevent persons living near North Carolina factory farms from recovering meaningful damages in civil actions against agribusinesses found responsible for harming them. This legislation was supported by big industry lobbyists and opposed by consumer protection agencies and environmental groups, such as the League of Conservation Voters.[13] In 2017, the American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime rating of 87%.

Bishop has attracted attention for statements attacking journalists, which have been likened to statements by Donald Trump.[14] On one occasion, Bishop criticized the Raleigh press corps over coverage of the state budget, calling reporters the "jihad media."[15]

LGBT rights

Bishop was the architect of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, or House Bill 2.[16][17][6] This controversial "bathroom bill" legislation restricted transgender individuals from using gender-segregated public facilities, other than those identified for use by their biological sex as defined on their birth certificates.[16] The bill, signed into law by Republican Governor Pat McCrory, also invalidated a local nondiscrimination law passed by the Charlotte City Council and prohibited any local government in North Carolina from enacting new protections for gay, lesbian, or transgender individuals.[17] Bishop used his sponsorship of HB 2 in fundraising emails, stating that he stood up to the "radical transgender agenda."[16] Bishop's role in promoting HB 2 raised the profile of the freshman state senator.[16]

In 2017, after a public backlash against the legislation and economic harms of $3.7 billion, HB 2 was repealed and replaced with new compromise legislation brokered between Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican leadership of the state legislature.[6] Bishop was the sole senator to make a floor speech against HB 2's revocation, calling it a "betrayal of principle."[18] In emails from Bishop subsequently made public under North Carolina's public-records law, Bishop compared LGBT rights activists to the Taliban.[19]

Following release of a video showing a group of people following former Governor Pat McCrory, shouting "shame", and calling McCrory a bigot, Bishop said he would introduce legislation "to make it a crime to threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against a present or former North Carolina official in the course of, or on account of, the performance of his or her duties."[20]

U.S. House of Representatives

2019 special election
Main article: 2019 North Carolina's 9th congressional district special election

On March 14, 2019, Bishop entered the 9th congressional district special election.[21] He won the Republican Party primary on May 14, 2019, with 47% of the vote.[22][23] In the general election on September 10, 2019, Bishop defeated Democratic nominee Dan McCready 50.7% to 48.7%.

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Contributions to social network Gab

In August 2017, Bishop contributed $500 toward the establishment of the social network Gab, a website criticized for allegedly allowing white supremacist content.[25] Bishop said he decided to make the contribution in response to what he called a California "tech giants' Big Brother routine", referring to companies such as PayPal and Facebook canceling accounts used by organizers and funders of the Unite the Right rally, in Charlottesville, Virginia.[14] Bishop's crowdfunding contribution attracted attention the following year, after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.[25] Bishop responded that he was being "smeared," saying "I don't use Gab, but if its management allows its users to promote violence, anti-Semitism, and racism on the platform they have misled investors and they will be gone quickly, and rightfully so."[25] The contribution came up again during the 2019 election season, one week following the 2019 El Paso shooting and a month before the election. A group called Stand Up Republic aired criticism of Bishop's contribution towards Gab.ai as part of a $500,000 dollar advertising campaign. Bishop criticized the advertising, arguing that it was "defamatory."[26]

Electoral history
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 5th District County Commissioner General Election, 2004[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop 42,452 100.0
Total votes 42,452 100.0
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 5th District County Commissioner General Election, 2006[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop (incumbent) 23,925 100.0
Total votes 23,925 100.0
North Carolina 104th State House District General Election, 2014[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop 18,576 74.78
Libertarian Eric Cable 6,266 25.22
Total votes 24,842 100.0
North Carolina 39th State Senate District General Election, 2016[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop 58,739 56.81
Democratic Lloyd Scher 44,655 43.19
Total votes 103,394 100.0
North Carolina 39th State Senate District Republican Primary, 2018[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop (incumbent) 8,778 71.28
Republican Beth Monaghan 3,537 28.72
Total votes 12,315 100.0
North Carolina 39th State Senate District General Election, 2018[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop (incumbent) 49,698 52.89
Democratic Chad Stachowicz 44,273 47.11
Total votes 93,971 100.0
North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Republican Primary, 2019[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Bishop 14,405 47.68
Republican Stony Rushing 5,882 19.47
Republican Matthew Ridenhour 5,166 17.10
Republican Leigh Brown 2,672 8.84
Republican Stevie Rivenbark Hull 906 3.00
Republican Fern Shubert 438 1.45
Republican Chris Anglin 382 1.26
Republican Kathie Day 193 0.64
Republican Gary Dunn 105 0.35
Republican Albert Lee Wiley, Jr. 62 0.21
Total votes 30,211 100.0
North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Election, 2019[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Dan Bishop 96,573 50.69 +1.44
Democratic Dan McCready 92,785 48.70 -0.23
Libertarian Jeff Scott 773 0.41 -1.40
Green Allen Smith 375 0.20 N/A
Total votes 190,506 100.0 N/A

References
  1. "Our Campaigns - Mecklenburg County Commissioner - District 5 Race - Nov 02, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Sep 14, 2019.
  2. "Our Campaigns - Mecklenburg County Commissioner - District 5 Race - Nov 07, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Sep 14, 2019.
  3. "2006-2008 Board of County Commissioners" (PDF). Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  4. "The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - Google Books". Books.google.ca. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. Staff (September 6, 2019). "NC-09: Republicans Risk Special Election Loss in Critical 2020 State". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 8, 2019. In May, Republican voters chose Bishop, an attorney best known for sponsoring North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill," as their new nominee.
  6. Kilgore, Ed (2019-05-13). "Bathroom Bill Author Most Likely GOP Nominee in North Carolina Special Election". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  7. Live results: North Carolina elections, Politico, September 10, 2019.
  8. Republican Dan Bishop wins special election for House seat in North Carolina special election, NBC News projects, NBC News, September 10, 2019.
  9. NC Senate District 39: Dan Bishop faces Lloyd Scher, Charlotte Observer (October 18, 2016).
  10. Fred Clasen-Kelly, NC House District 104: Former county commissioner re-emerges as leader for state House seat, Charlotte Observer (November 4, 2014).
  11. "11/08/2016 General Election Results". Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina State Board of Elections. 8 November 2016.
  12. Senator Dan Bishop (Rep): Committee Assignments, 2017-2018 Session, North Catolina General Assembly.
  13. Sue Sturgis, NC lawmakers want to shield factory farms from big damage payments to victims, Facing South, Institute for Southern Studies (April 7, 2017).
  14. Billy Corriher, Meet the N.C. legislator who invested in the alt-right's social media platform, Facing South, Institute for Southern Studies (November 2, 2018).
  15. Colin Campbell, NC senator blasts 'jihad media' on Twitter in response to budget article, News & Observer (June 22, 2017).
  16. Colin Campbell, Rep. Dan Bishop: Leader of House Bill 2, Charlotte Observer (April 23, 2016).
  17. Steve Harrison, N.C. Gov Pat McCrory signs into law bill restricting LGBT protections, Charlotte Observer (March 23, 2016).
  18. Colin Campbell, Craig Jarvis & Lynn Bonner, NC Senate, House approve HB2 repeal compromise, News & Observer (March 30, 2017).
  19. Erik Spanberg, EXCLUSIVE: Inside HB 2 author's legislative emails on LGBT issues, Charlotte Business Journal (June 9, 2016).
  20. Abbie Bennett, Does Pat McCrory need protection? One NC senator thinks so, News & Observer (January 23, 2017).
  21. "Sponsor of N Carolina anti-LGBT bill to run for US House". WRAL. Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  22. Republican voters nominate N.C. state lawmaker who sponsored controversial 'bathroom bill' in 9th Congressional District race Washington Post, Felicia Sonmez and Amy Gardner, May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  23. North Carolina 9th District special election results, Washington Post, May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  24. HFF (September 13, 2019), Two Big Wins in North Carolina, House Freedom Fund
  25. Jim Morrill, NC lawmaker says he's being 'smeared' for investment in site tied to white supremacists, Charlotte Observer (October 31, 2018).
  26. Morrill, Jim (12 August 2019). "New ad in NC9 focuses on Bishop's investment in a media platform used by extremists". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  27. "11/04/2014 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  28. "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  29. "05/08/2018 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  30. "11/06/2018 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  31. "05/14/2019 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  32. "US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 09 - REP (VOTE FOR 1)". NC State Board of Elections. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ruth Samuelson		 Member of the Mecklenburg County Commission
from the 5th district
2005–2009		 Succeeded by
Neil Cooksey
North Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ruth Samuelson		 Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 104th district
2015–2017		 Succeeded by
Andy Dulin
North Carolina Senate
Preceded by
Bob Rucho		 Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 39th district
2017–2019		 Vacant
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Robert Pittenger		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 9th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Fred Keller		 United States Representatives by seniority
427th		 Succeeded by
Greg Murphy
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